Wall Street plunges on Inauguration Day

NEW YORK, Jan. 20 (Chinese media) -- Wall Street plunged

more than 4 percent on Inauguration Day Tuesday as bank woes spread while

investors failed to find confidence from President Barack Obama's inauguration

speech.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than

330 points, or 4 percent, falling below 8,000 for the first time in 2009, while

the Standard Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq indexes dropped more than 5

percent.

Traders work on the floor of the New

York Stock Exchange, January 20, 2009. U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as

investors fretted over gloomy earnings and the health of the banking

sector that underlined the depth of the difficulties facing U.S.

President-elect Barack Obama.(Chinese media/Reuters Photo)
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Shares of major U.S. banks plummeted after the State

Street, the world's biggest money manager for institutions, lost half their

value after the company reported rising unrealized losses in its commercial

paper program and investment portfolio.

Shares of State Street plunged to their lowest levels

in more than a decade as the company said it may need to raise more capital.

The Royal Bank of Scotland reported that it would see

a loss of 41.3 billion U.S. dollars for 2008. The British government announced a

second bailout plan for banks, which echoed the deals the U.S. government

reached recently with Citigroup and Bank of America.

J.P. Morgan Chase Co shares fell 20.73 percent

after Fox-Pitt analysts cut the bank's earnings outlook. Citigroup and Bank of

America Corp also fell 20 percent and 28.97 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, investors are uneasy with companies'

earnings reports. Health care products maker Johnson Johnson reported a 14

percent increase in the fourth-quarter profit, beating the market's forecasts.

But it also warned of weaker results in 2009.

The decline in stocks accelerated after hearing the

new president's inaugural address as investors could not find confidence from

Obama's speech on economic policy.

The Dow Jones fell 332.13, or 4.01 percent, to

7949.09. The Standard Poor's 500 index dipped 44.90, or 5.28 percent, to

805.22 and the Nasdaq dropped 88.47, or 5.78 percent, to

1440.86.

Crude prices rise as February contract expires

NEW YORK, Jan. 20 (Chinese media) -- Crude prices rose sharply as the February futures contract expired Tuesday.

As speculators covered short position, light, sweet crude for February delivery rose 2.23 U.S. dollars to settle at 38.74 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Full story

Dollar rises against most major currencies on Obama's inaugural day

NEW YORK, Jan. 20 (Chinese media) -- The dollar rose against most major currencies on Tuesday as European currencies fell amid worries over bank system and Barack Obama took oath as president of U.S.

There were huge hopes that President Obama would be able to get the U.S. economy back on track. Obama predicted earlier this month that U.S. lawmakers would approve a major economic stimulus plan in two weeks after he takes office.Full story